China is getting more inventive as the country witnesses surging patents of invention, an expert said at an ongoing forum in central China's Hubei Province.

Wang Jingchuan, a professor with the Intellectual Property School at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, said that China recorded 4.2 valid patents of invention among every 10,000 people in 2013, beyond a 3.3 target set for the 2011-2015 period.

"The figure shows that China is getting more innovative," Wang said at the 2014 Nanhu Forum on Intellectual Property Right in Wuhan, Hubei's provincial capital. Wang added that the figure is likely to rise to 4.7 in 2014.

China ranked third in total international patent applications to the Patent Cooperation Treaty, with over 21,000 applications, up 15.6 percent year on year. The country received 825,000 applications for patent of invention in 2013, a year-on-year increase of 26.3 percent.